faithrunner

--> The recent and continued racial strife in our country has deepened the division and separation among our citizens that has existed for years. As followers of Jesus, we must speak and act in ways that bring reconciliation and redemption out of the strife, not add to the disruptions. What is our narrative in days like these?             Paul, a Jewish religious leader who Jesus called out from among his people and sent him to all ethnic groups beyond the tribes of Israel, faced similar racial divisions as he carried the good news of Jesus to the global mission field. Many of the issues in the movement of Jesus centered on social and racial issues like who could share a meal with whom and who belonged and who did not by the religious rules they kept. Paul addressed the corrosive issue of race and its attending social practices when he wrote to Christ-followers in Ephesus . 14  For he himself is our peace ,...

Church Around The Table One weekend our LifeGroup gathered at the lake house that belonged to one of the members. Not everyone in the group could make it, and it was winter, but water sports and 100% attendance were not our goals. We just wanted to be together. Sunday morning we gathered around the table for breakfast. We enjoyed the cooking of our hosts and the warmth of the fireplace on a cold January morning. All the surface talk had been used up in the time we already had together walking, playing table games and watching football. Our guards were down, and we were relaxed to be ourselves. My wife jumped into some story about our grandchildren and told of a podcast she liked where the host always ended her episode by asking her guests, " What are three things that make you happy now." She thought that would be fun for us to do. (Being an introvert married to an extrovert I have come to expect these conversational invasions into free-flowing conversations I can ...

For many years I have invited Christ followers to see the church and themselves as "a mission outpost where every member is a missionary in his or her own mission field." Whenever I find someone else calling for the same way of living, I get fired up and realize maybe the idea is more than a catchy phrase.  Meet Sean Benesh . He lives in Portland with his wife, Katie, and his three sons. He is a missionary on a bicycle . He has written a short book called, The Bikeable Church , which I endorsed because I was captured by his questions and heart to be a missionary in the true sense where he was planted. He's some of his thinking and challenge: Why do we continue to insist on auto-based commuting patterns for church life and worship? What if we simply reduced the scale and scope to that which is bikeable and/or walkable? As missiologists one of the principles behind exegeting a city is to learn how people naturally gather for fellowship and community. Most often...

We have started our fall series as Legacy Church . We call it SENT . We are walking through the first twelve chapters of Acts as a reminder of how--like the first followers of Jesus--we are a sent people to tell His-story and demonstrate His life-changing power. Last Sunday I tackled the topic of the Holy Spirit and how important that Person of the Triune God is to the church, or, ekklesia .(You can hear the full message here .) I am convinced that no matter the programs , excellence factor, buildings, location, personalities, or marketing you have as part of your church, you will have little to no impact in touching or changing the hearts of those you seek to serve and reach without the Person of the Holy Spirit. You can gather a bunch of people to meet their felt needs and feed them good advice, but without the presence of the Holy Spirit you are only a helpful religious organization . I the Bible study guide of Acts I wrote for LifeBibleStudy , I said it this way:...

Despicable Me USA Today recently reported on a study that concluded, "... U.S. society since 1960 has become increasingly focused on the self ." I'm not sure we needed a study of 750,000 plus books written in the US the last 52 years to verify the shift from 'we' to 'me;' but, quantitative evidence helps the sometimes skeptical who may not be paying attention . Individualism is a prominent trend in our culture--and a threat to the church as it was created to be. Let me jump to my question for discussion, "What does this trend have to do with the church, either the local church or as a movement of God's people?" My first response is for us to look at the language of our worship songs and sermons since 1960 . (Anyone out there looking for a PhD or DMin project?) My hunch is that our worship choruses have more "I's" and "Me's" than "Us's" and "We's." I do believe that trend ...

 Sunday, June 12, Legacy Church abandoned its usual routine of gathering to worship in music and word to live out our core value , "We are most like Jesus when we serve." ( Mark 10:45 ) We gathered for instructions, prayer, and a song, then headed out to serve. Some groups started earlier that morning. We spread out to serve two homes that were part of Plano's Love Where You Live program, two elementary schools through their PTAs, and the campus of Legacy Church. A group also serve the neighborhood around our campus by prayer walking through the streets and praying for the families there.  It's a risk any time you do this during "regularly scheduled services" on a Sunday morning. You risk guests showing up to check you out (but what better way to demonstrate who you really are), forgetful members who show up not ready to work (they could run home and change and maybe read their weekly eletter and worship guide each week), and people sent by God s...

While some are mourning the demise of denominations , I continue to be excited about the possibilities of no longer needing to keep our sheep within strict doctrinal and liturgical fences. Finally, being the big "C" church is about the sheep and not about the shepherds. Another aspect of the crumbling walls of sectarianism and the reviving and re-forming of the church in America is a renewed focus on serving the communities in which we live and work . Being the church is no longer about gathering members but about empowering missionaries to serve where they live and work and go to school. Cooperation in the larger Body of Christ and attention to the needs of people in our mission field have combined to bring new life to dying fellowships and stagnate churches. Last year, Markus Lloyd, Children's Pastor and Creative Architect at Legacy Church , led us to partner with three other churches in our community to raise money for an endowment to address the needs in our ci...

About two years ago I met Pastor Smith and his wife at a church garage sale. He had just begun as the pastor of a new work, and they were there to gather as many items as possible to begin the work. We talked and shared our stories and promised to stay in touch. About a year later, I finally got down to see his ministry through the Peace of God Missionary Baptist Church in the Joppa Community , southeast of Dallas . The community was founded in the mid-1800's and has been a home for thousands since then. The church gathers in a rectangular building that was built in 1940 . Pastor Smith and his family had repaired and updated the building, which had not been used for some time, by investing their own money, time, and talents. I was honored to share his vision for his work and the potential the Gospel had in the community . (There literally is a church on almost every corner. Something I can relate to in my community, but with a few more potential participants where I serve.)...

My son-in-law is an account executive for the newly forming, Frisco-based, Texas Legends , an NBA D-League team. Last Saturday, he invited us to a walk-through of the Dallas Mavericks practice facilities and locker room. I'm not a huge NBA fan, but I have been to enough games to definitely jump at the chance when Ryan invited Graham and me to join him. We were greeted by Donnie Nelson , the owner of the Legends, in the Mavs practice court under the AAC arena . I soon found myself intrigued with the special nature of what I was getting to do. This was where the sweat and coaching of a championship team took place before and between games . We were then led into the locker room where the players "live" during the season. Our host kept saying that everything is within 10 feet of the players' lockers so they could train and be cared for without excuses of distance or inconvenience. That's Graham and me at Dirk Nowitski's locker wearing his practice jerseys. I on...